The present invention is related to compositions and methods containing Allium sativum Linn. bulbs naturally enriched with organic selenium compounds, and the use of these compositions for nutritional supplementation in animals and humans.
The parent application disclosed a novel process for preparing garlic bulbs naturally enriched with an unique composition of organic selenium compounds through a soilless culture technique. The details of the composition were also disclosed. The current invention further improved upon the composition of the parent application by enabling the preparation of a concentrate containing the unique composition of organic selenium compounds disclosed in the parent application, in specific proportions, for nutritional supplementation in humans and animals.
Selenium is a vital trace element nutrient with multiple roles in the growth and functioning of living cells in higher animals and humans. At the molecular level, selenium (as selenocysteine) is an essential component of the active sites of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase, and the enzymes participating in thyroid functions iodothyronine-5′-deiodinase and mammalian thioredoxin reductase. Selenium is also present in several other mammalian selenoproteins. Low selenium status has been linked with the occurrence of decreased immunity to diseases and the prevalence of various forms of cancer.
Selenium occurs in foods, through uptake by plants from the soil, in the form of the selenoamino acids, selenomethionine and selenocysteine, and their derivatives. However, as the element is unevenly distributed in the earth's crust, dietary supplementation is often needed. Organic selenium compounds are preferred for supplementation on account of their superior bioavailability. An ideal nutritional supplement would be a selenium enriched edible plant part wherein the selenium metabolically accumulates in the form of bioavailable organic selenium compounds. Plants that naturally contain higher levels of the sulfur containing amino acids such as those from the Allium and Brassica species are preferred for enrichment, based on metabolic criteria. Selenium-enriched garlic is reported to be useful as a nutritional supplement in the prevention of cancer (Ip, et al., 1992, 1996; Ip and Lisk, 1993, 1997; Lu et al., 1996).
Clinical intervention trials and in vitro data revealed the efficacy of selenium in the form of selenium yeast or selenomethionine in cancer prevention (Clark et al., 1996, 1998). Ip et al (2000) described the role of chemical speciation on the comparative activity of selenium-enriched garlic and selenium yeast in mammary cancer prevention in rats, wherein selenium-enriched garlic was shown to be more efficacious than selenium yeast. γ-glutamyl Se-methylselenocysteine is reported to be the major form of selenium in selenium-enriched garlic while L-Selenomethionine was shown to be the major form of selenium in selenium enriched yeast.
Laboratory studies indicate that γ-Glutamyl-Se-methyl-L-selenosysteine is an effective chemopreventive agent, serving as a carrier for Se-Methyl-L-selenocysteine (Dong et al., 2001; Medina et al., 2001). Se-Methyl-L-selenocysteine is a well researched chemopreventive organoselenium compound, which is not incorporated in the body proteins, and is therefore less toxic than other forms of supplemental selenium (Ip et al., 1994; Medina et al., 2001).
The following is a list of literature cited in this application, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety: 1. Ip, C., Lisk, D. J, and Stoewsand, G. S. 1992. “Mammary Cancer prevention by Regular Garlic and Selenium-Enriched Garlic.” Nutr. Cancer 17, 279–286. 2. Ip.C, and .Lisk, D. J. 1996. “The attributes of Selenium_Enriched Garlic in Cancer Prevention.” In Dietary Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention and Treatment 15, 179–187. 3. Ip. C, and Donald, J. Lisk. 1993. “Bioavailability of Selenium From SeleniumEnriched Garlic.” Nutr. Cancer 20, 129–137. 4. Ip, C and Lisk, D. J. 1997. “Modulation of phase I and Phase II Xenobiotic-metabolizing Enzymes by Enriched Garlic in rats.” Nutr. and Cancer 28(2), 184–188. 5. Lu., J., Pei H., Ip C., Lisk D J., Ganther H and Thompson H J., 1996. Effect on an aqueous extract of selenium enriched garlic on in vitro and in vivo efficacy in cancer prevention. Carcinogenesis, 17(9): 1903 1907. 6. Ip, C; Ganther, H. Novel Strategies In Selenium Cancer Chemoprevention Research; In Selenium In Biology and Human Health; Burk, R. F. Ed; (1994) Springer-Verlag, New York: 169 180. 7. Ip. C., Birringer, M., Block, E., Kotrebai, M., Tyson, J. F., Uden, P. C., and Lisk, D. J. 2000. Chemical Speciation Influences Comparative Activity of Selenium-Enriched Garlic and Yeast in Mammary Cancer Prevention. J. Agric. Food Chem. 48, 2062–2070 8. Dong, Y. et al. 2001 Characterization and Biological Activity of γ-Glutamyl-Se Methylselenocysteine: A Novel, Naturally Occurring Anticancer Agent From Garlic. Cancer Res. 61:2923–2928. 9. Medina, D. et al. 2001 Se-Methylselenocysteine: A new compound for chemoprevention of breast cancer. Nutrition and Cancer 40(1):12–17. 10 Clark L C, et al. 1996 Effects of selenium supplementation for cancer prevention in patients with carcinoma of the skin. A randomized controlled trial. Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Study Group. JAMA. 276(24):1957–63. 11. Clark, LC et al. Inhibitory effect of selenomethionine on the growth of three selected human tumor cell lines. Cancer Lett. 1998 Mar. 13; 125(1–2): 103–10.